Bad bill alert: The “Toxic Spill Bill”

House Bill 789/Senate Bill 738 further shields major polluters from responsibility to toxic spills.

As we’re dealing with damaging Lake Okeechobee discharges, there are games going on in Tallahassee.⁠

This bad bill, Senate Bill 738/House Bill 789, was all but dead in the Florida state legislative process a couple of weeks ago, but political power-grabs brought it back to life, and it’s now passed the Senate as of Thursday. ⁠

As it’s written, the legislation contains egregious provisions that protect big-time polluters and punish hard-working citizens.⁠

The bill is toxic by its very nature, limiting the liability of polluters in the event of a spill.⁠

Basically, it prohibits citizens from suing polluters for bodily harm or economic damages, if a spill event that caused the damages was permitted by a government agency.⁠

Specifically, this bill would prevent citizens from taking legal action against permitted polluters in the event of a toxic spill for damages relating to:

• Medical costs
• Loss of REVENUE
• Reduction in property value
• BODILY HARM
• Other economic damages

Let’s break that down

So, if a polluter spills toxic chemicals, significantly degrading the water quality, and a fishing guide loses his source of income or suffers bodily harm like respiratory issues, chemical burns, cancer or any other type of harm due to the toxic spill, then this bill prevents that fishing guide from suing the polluter over the impacts of those damages, if the event that caused the injuries was duly permitted or authorized by a government agency.

This bill is just another way for major polluters to avoid responsibility for the environmental and human health consequences of their big-dollar operations.⁠

And the way that it’s been legislated is another reminder of the vigilance that’s required to make sure new policies at the state level safeguard our waters and the people that depend on them—rather than subject them to more toxic waste.⁠

Now that the Florida Senate passed their version of this bad bill, a review and a vote of the House version is the next step in the process.⁠

So, we’re urging the Florida House NOT TO HEAR this bill. It’s a slap in the face to citizens, and it needs to be trashed. ⁠

Share this content and contact your House representatives to tell them the impacts of this bill matter to our communities and we don’t want it to see the light of day.